If you're looking for a unique gift or just another way to keep your chocolate addiction going you can cast chocolate into custom shapes using a mold made from brown sugar.

Culinary weblog Rise and Shine details that all you need to make your mold is to fill a bowl or pan with an inch or two of brown sugar. Smooth the sugar and press it lightly, but do not tightly pack it. Firmly press the item you want to cast in the brown sugar and melting chocolate chips in a double boiler. You can add spices, zest, or sugar sprinkles to the mold before pouring the chocolate in if you want them to appear on the outside of your chocolate casting. Pour the melted chocolate in the impression made in the brown sugar and then place it in your refrigerator or freezer until the chocolate is set. As you remove the pieces brown sugar will cake to the outside—run the hardened chocolate under cold water to remove the sugar.

While professional chocolatiers undoubtedly use methods that are friendlier for industrial production, chocolate casting using brown sugar can give you a taste of the craft and again makes for an interesting gift.